quotable and notable
?I'm not anti-union; I'm not anti-teacher. I'm anti-our-children-not-getting-a-good-education.? ? Kevin Johnson, Mayor of Sacramento
Thanks for having me
This summer, I'm heading north to Trenton to become the Deputy Commissioner of Education for the state of New Jersey.?Though I'm sad to leave my home state of Maryland and the DC ed reform co
Massachusetts madness
Michael J. PetrilliIf you wanted to dream up an example of the ill consequence of ?one size fits all? federal policy, you'd be hard pressed to do better than Arne Duncan and company's treatment of Massachusetts right now.
education news nuggets
At the college level, transparency may not always be a good thing. At the national level, there are 10 problems edu-preneurs must solve.
quotable and notable
?We do a disservice to children when we shield them from the truth, just because some people think it is painful or doesn't fit with their particular views.? ? Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education
States factor in teachers' performance
Jamie Davies O'Leary, Emmy L. PartinHere in Ohio, where the state has avoided even some of the least controversial reforms related to teacher evaluation and pay, Emmy and I have noted plenty of other districts and states taking bold action. ?We wrote an op-ed about this very topic, highlighting four such examples: D.C.
Eduwonk and charters
Eduwonk has a very good post on the NYT article on charters from this weekend. His take is worth the read.
NCTQ research competition: deadline extended
Stafford PalmieriWe announced a few weeks ago in Gadfly that the National Council on Teacher Quality had opened up the second year of their bi-annual research competition.
PEPG conference on merit pay
In two weeks, Harvard's excellent Program on Education Policy and Governance is hosting a conference on performance pay for teachers.
RTT math
In a previous post, I discussed the probability that Secretary Duncan will have reason to forgo spending down the remaining Race to the Top funding and send money back to the Treasury.
Forbes on data and schools
Make sure to check out the excellent Forbes article on the nation's best charters, forward-thinking districts, and the use of data. Lots of name-checking of ed reforms biggest stars, like Achievement First, Wireless Generation, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the Gates Foundation, New York City Public Schools, and more.
Losing LeBron isn't Cleveland's biggest problem
Jamie Davies O'LearyReading results from NAEP's Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) have been released, and the news for Cleveland fourth and eighth graders isn't much better than when
Tom Loveless: Accountability systems appear to close achievement gaps
Michael J. PetrilliBelow is a comment from Tom Loveless, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, about my post from yesterday showing big declines for top U.S. students on the PISA math test from 2003-2006.
Schools with big achievement gaps: Civil rights failures?or successes?
Michael J. PetrilliTry this thought experience. Picture an urban school in California (let's call it ?Malcolm X?) with one of the largest achievement gaps in the state?a whopping 44 percentage point difference between whites and blacks.
LAUSD: School reform mecca?
Michael J. PetrilliInterpreting NAEP results is always an exercise in creativity, but how on Earth can you explain Los Angeles? We just learned that it's one of just two districts in the NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment program that posted gains in reading in 4th and 8th grades from 2002 to 2009.
Tom Loveless: Accountability systems appear to close achievement gaps
Michael J. PetrilliBelow is a comment from Tom Loveless, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, about my post from yesterday showing big declines for top U.S.
Needle in a Haystack: King Elementary
King Elementary in Akron has a long tradition of academic excellence, delivering impressive results and outscoring the district by margins of up to 28 percentage points on state tests.?It's no wonder that about 45% of students enroll here from across the district through open-enrollment. Check out our video to see some of the school's
Cristo Rey: Working their way through school
Eric OsbergThe?Wall Street Journal's Daniel Henninger turns in?a nice column today (subscription required) on the Cristo Rey network of schools.
Gadfly, gadfly
Stafford PalmieriDon't miss an all new Gadfly: Overview From Mike's and Janie's Desks
Education News Nuggets
Stafford PalmieriSome new players are on the scene, including the Delivery Institute.
How charters are serving kids with special needs
There's an interesting book forum coming up?on Monday, May 24, that you might want to put on your radar.
quotable and notable
?What's good for kids is what is good for teachers.? ? Tom Dooher, Education Minnesota President
Odds and ends
RI's Gist gets unions to sign on to Rd 2 RTT app. This is big. Important SIF/turnaround post from Ed Week's Klein.
MN, RTT, and the nuclear option
Huge news out of MN. The state is not applying in RTT round two, and the governor is blaming the legislature, which he accuses of being controlled by unions.
Can the school-choice genie go back in the bottle?
Emmy L. PartinIs school choice a genie you can put back in the bottle??? The Dayton Public School District, in Fordham's hometown, wants to try.
Ballyhoo at Bighorn
Steven Brill thinks that Race to the Top era will be the teachers’ unions’ undoing.
Central Office Transformation for District-wide Teaching and Learning Improvement
Daniela FairchildMeredith Honig, Michael Copland, Lydia Rainey, Juli Anna Lorton, Morena NewtonCenter for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of WashingtonApril 2010
The Nation's Report Card: Trial Urban District Assessment Reading 2009
Stafford PalmieriNational Center for Education StatisticsMay 2010